Hydrothermal Synthesis of Silicon-Based Hollow Nanostructures

Abstract

Silicon-based hollow structures with a diameter on the order of 300 nm were prepared from silicon monoxide by hydrothermal synthesis without any catalytic materials. Structural analysis of the products revealed that the shell of hollow structures was composed of amorphous SiOx. It was expected that nanoscale bubbles act as cores on which thin SiOx shells grew. Since the nanobubbles are generated in water under high pressure at the nuclei formation stage, the dimension of capsules can be controlled by adjusting the pressure.